This invention provides a data display device which displays bar codes and sales/inventory management systems using the data display. More specifically, it concerns a data display device ideally suited for displaying as a bar code or in some other form not directly comprehensible to a person the number of coins, tokens, etc. or the amount of money inserted in, for example, a game or amusement machine to operate that machine.
This invention also provides sales/inventory management systems which proceed after coin payment. These systems read the bar code or other data displayed on the data display device swiftly and accurately. It also prevents an operator""s pilfering of the coins handled because the data, such as a total amount of the sale, is illegible to an unauthorized person.
In, for example, a game machine of the prior art, the number of coins, tokens, bills, balls or other money substitutes (hereafter, xe2x80x9ccoinsxe2x80x9d) inserted is calculated mechanically by an electromagnetic counter, detector or the like. The value calculated is displayed in the form of Arabic numerals. The displayed value can be, therefore, read visually by the operators, and sales/inventory management is executed through subsequent data processing based on the data visually read by the operators.
In this example of the prior art, the displayed value is read visually, and human error sometimes occurs. When the value is read incorrectly, the subsequent data processing will also have errors in it, and the sales and product control information will be inaccurate.
Another potential problem is that a person knowledgeable about electromechanical devices can alter the total amount which is displayed by manipulating the electromagnetic counter. By intentionally altering the total, a dishonest person can embezzle sales receipts. To prevent pilfering or stealing accomplished by this sort of deception, one could separate the task of reading out the total from that of collecting the coins which have accumulated in the game machine and check the results against each other. However, this would require two people, one to read out the total and the other to collect the money.
An object of this invention is to provide a data display device which would make it difficult for an unauthorized person to read the data for a total number of coins inserted or an amount of money inserted so as to prevent pilfering or stealing accomplished by falsifying totals. This data display device would also prevent misreadings due to human error, and would be ideally suited for accurate and speedy control of sales.
Another object of this invention is to provide a sales and inventory management system after coin payment which prevent misreadings due to human error, and would be suited for accurate and speedy management of sales. This system would also prevent pilfering or stealing accomplished by falsifying totals.
The data display device has a coin counter unit to count the output data of a coin detector. The coin detector detects the fact that a coin has been inserted. The device has also a display unit to display, in a form not directly comprehensible to a person, either the value counted by the coin counter unit or the total amount of money inserted based on this value, or both.
The aforesaid display unit should have a display, for example, a liquid crystal display, on which a bar code is displayed and a driving circuit to drive the display.
The display unit should have a built-in battery and a device to keep track of the amount of charge remaining in that battery. The aforesaid display unit should also display whether the charge remaining in the aforesaid battery is below a given level. This could be done by means of a battery symbol which would appear next to the bar code.
The display unit should also have a start switch. In response to the actuation of this start switch, the bar code would appear on the aforesaid display device for a specified period of time.
The aforesaid counting unit should count only output pulses from the aforesaid coin detector which have a specified pulsewidth.
The aforesaid coins may be actual coins, tokens, banknotes, game balls, or some other currency substitute, or some combination of these. The aforesaid coin detector may be installed in a game machine, an amusement machine, or an automatic vending machine.
The aforesaid bar code is equivalent to a standard product code which is widely used in the market.
The bar code display unit according to this invention counts the number of coins inserted into a machine and displays either this value, the amount of money inserted as based on this value, or both. Because it displays this value in the form of a bar code, the number of coins or the amount of money inserted will not be legible to an unauthorized person.
The use of a bar code reader allows the operator to obtain a total swiftly and accurately. This method prevents errors due to reading the total by human eye, and it also prevents pilfering and stealing accomplished by deception, as by tampering with the counters.
Because the data display device has a built-in battery, it does not need to be supplied with power from the exterior. This gives the user great freedom in regard to where the display can be installed. Because the device keeps track of and displays the amount of charge left in the battery, it need never malfunction due to the effects of a dead battery.
The bar code is displayed for a given period of time only when the start switch is actuated. This arrangement is chosen to reduce power consumption.
The aforesaid coin counter unit counts only the output pulses of the coin detector which have a specified pulsewidth. This prevents the calculation from being affected by chattering so that an accurate total can be obtained.
The aforesaid bar code will be equivalent to a standard product code used widely in the market. This will ensure that it can be read easily and that a general-purpose bar code reader can be used.
The sales and inventory management system which proceeds after coin payment includes the data display device according to above, a reader and processing unit to read and process the displayed bar code to convert the displayed bar code to the total of incoming coins.
The sales/inventory management system which proceeds after coin payment further includes a calculating means to calculate a total sale amount based on the total of incoming coins obtained by a plurality of the reading and processing means.
It would also be preferable that the bar code converting means to convert a total of incoming coins to a bar code further include a coin detecting means to detect the type of the incoming coins. These systems according to this invention would be suited for game machines and amusement machines.
It would be preferable that systems according to this invention, further include an electrical interface unit to interface driver circuits between the coin detector unit, the display units and a main frame of said sales/inventory management systems, and a system detecting unit to detect a disconnection of the electrical interface unit, and to render this system inoperative when the disconnection is detected. This arrangement helps prevent pilfering.
According to the invention, users insert coins in a machine, for example, a game machine. The coin detector detects what kind of coins are inserted. The processing unit calculates the number of the inserted coins and/or an amount of the coins, which is the sales amount. These data are, then, displayed on the display in a form not directly comprehensible to a person, such as in a form of bar code. When an authorized operator wishes to know the amount of sales, the sales data displayed by bar code is read by a bar code reader. The operator can also collect the coins from the game machine. Since the operator has no way to know from the displayed data how much the sales were, there is no way to pilfer the coins which are being collected.
The system can also detect a disconnection of the electrical interface unit which interfaces between driver circuits for the processing unit/the display means, and a main frame of the system. When someone disconnects the electrical interface intentionally for deception, the system will be rendered inoperative. This configuration will prevent pilfering and stealing.